Anonymous wrote:I don't know anything about PG County. Friends of ours - a young couple (no kids) just moved there and there house is ADORABLE but I must admit, there street is not that pretty (they have the cutest house on the street in other words).
Other than I just don't know anything. But they are young and hip and smart and successful so it must be a nice place to live! What is to recommend? How is the commute? Schools? Etc.
Mt. Rainier resident here. There is a lot to recommend about this area. There is a great community spirit here in M.R., Hyattsville, Greenbelt area. Maybe because this is an up-and-coming area, the people who move here are excited about and involved in making positive changes in their community and neighborhoods. I don't find ANY of the snobbery or keeping-up-with-the-Jones that is alluded to on so many DCUM threads. The people who live here tend to be friendly, neighborly, down-to-earth, definitely more education than money types-- more along the lines of govt/non-profit/advocacy work than Big Law. Actually, I can think of just about any line of work among my friends/neighbors, including medicine, than law.
The area is still very affordable, especially relative to much of the rest of the metro area. The commute is so, so easy. The green line runs straight through us with multiple stops, and the R.I. Ave stop on the red line is not far, either. When we first moved here 6 years ago, there was a dearth of retail and dining, but that has changed quite a bit and there is a lot more coming. We have a beautiful new movie theatre in Hyattsville. The PG Pool is a great cooperative pool with lots and lots of families with young children that hang out there all summer.
The towns of Mt. Rainier, Brentwood, Hyattsville, etc., have organized their economic development around the arts, so there is lots of new artist housing, galleries, museums, etc., that has opened and more planned. We have Joe's Movement Emporium, with a great new building that offers a variety of classes and provides office space for a number of arts organizations. (Unbeknownst to most people, affordable office space is a critical need for arts orgs, who typically operate on very tight budgets.) Many of our neighbors are renowned artists.
Schools still present a problem, unfortunately, although they are getting better, especially at the elementary level. I expect it to get better in the higher grades as this big baby boom of new residents works its way through the system. Mt. Rainier Elementary is nationally recognized for its conflict resolution program and has a great team of educators.
This is a great little corner of the metro area that few know about. We love it here, and have found it to be a real home with wonderful friends.
I hope some other PG residents will jump in here with more info. . .
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